Prosperity cupcakes (fa gao)
Fa gao, or prosperity cupcakes, are small steamed cakes that Chinese families often offer at altars and give as gifts at the start of the new year. The more a cake splits open into petals like a blooming flower, the luckier it's considered, a symbol of abundant fortune. The crumb is soft and spongy with a gentle brown sugar sweetness, and they come together very quickly: just mix and steam.
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rising or chilling
- 10 min
- Total time
- 45 min
- Method
- Steamed
Ingredients
For the brown sugar syrup
For the batter
Instructions
Step 1
Heat 150 g brown sugar with 230 g water over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat and let it cool completely. Syrup that's still warm would set off the baking powder too early, robbing the cakes of their lift in the steamer. The syrup is ready when it's clear, a deep amber brown and cooled to room temperature.
Step 2
Fill a steamer pot with water, bring it to a vigorous boil over high heat and set small paper-lined cups in the steamer basket to heat up. Very strong steam and hot cups are the secret to tops that split into petals. The steamer is ready when steam is billowing up through the holes in the basket.
Step 3
Sift 200 g all-purpose flour, 50 g rice flour and 12 g baking powder into a bowl, pour in the cooled syrup and stir until just smooth, then add 10 g vegetable oil. Stir only until no dry flour remains so the cakes don't turn chewy. The batter is ready when it's thick, falls slowly in a heavy ribbon when you lift the whisk and has no lumps.
Step 4
Spoon the batter into the cups in the steamer until full to the brim or slightly mounded, working quickly so the batter doesn't sit. Full cups give the cakes enough push to rise high and crack open on top. You've done this right when every cup holds the same amount of batter and the tops are slightly domed.
Step 5
Cover with a towel-wrapped lid and steam over high heat for about fifteen to twenty minutes, and don't open the lid at all during the first ten minutes. Constant strong heat cooks the outside quickly while the inside is still rising, so the top splits into several petals. The cakes are done when the tops have split into three or four petals, look dry and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Step 6
Lift the cakes out of the steamer and let them cool on a rack for about ten minutes before peeling off the paper. As they cool, the tops firm up, keeping the petals intact and stopping them from sticking to the paper. They're ready when the paper peels off easily and the crumb is springy when gently squeezed.
Equipment
- Steamer
- Small cup molds
- Whisk
- Sieve
- Small saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale
Tips
- Your baking powder needs to be fresh; test it by adding a little hot water, and if it fizzes vigorously, it's good to use.
- For lucky pink cakes, you can swap the brown sugar for granulated sugar and add a few drops of red food coloring.
- Small ceramic cups with straight sides help the cakes rise higher than shallow molds.
Storage
The cakes keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two days. They dry out and harden over time, but just steam them again for about five minutes and they'll turn soft and fluffy again.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The tops didn't split and just puffed up round.
- The steam wasn't strong enough or the cups weren't filled enough. Steam over the highest heat, preheat the cups and fill them with batter right to the brim.
- The cakes taste slightly bitter and astringent.
- There was too much baking powder or it wasn't evenly mixed in. Measure the baking powder precisely and sift it together with the flour before mixing.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
